What did ya do today?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yesterday, I waited until night. Ended up with multiple stab wounds from sewing equipment.

Today is National Houseplant Appreciation Day. I've been growing green onion stubs.

[dneal]

Had a really good 2 o'clock power nap.

First attempt at even playing around with filming. Seems if you can get the angle right, it's the easiest way to review ink. 20 second ink review.

lol

[Sailor Kenshin]

Day is done.

Somehow ended up with three pens filled with Robert Oster Carbon Fire, so I transferred/consolidated into two pens. Then I painted my nails, only afterward realizing there was still Carbon Fire under one. It will probably last longer than my manicure.

Went out on multiple errands. Entered an actual store for the first time in ages. Home again to bake a loaf of bread.

Now listening to a 900-song mix. One at a time.

[manoeuver]

Today it's roaster repair. This repaired 20 Amp heating element will join 2 others in the roaster.

Then I'll roast some coffee.
Hope to get some time in the studio (same building, different unit) to work on a record.

[Bold2013]

Had breakfast with my pastor. Worked on a lecture. Had a solid deadlift session. Smoked a highly anticipated cigar. Played with my kids.

[dneal]

Got a really good haircut.

A really good haircut is a special thing.

[dneal]

Went to the dentist. Getting your teeth cleaned is not as special of a thing as a good haircut.

I just switched to this office, and society is nowhere near not needing pens anymore - if my experience today is any indication. My electronic gadgets were of no use with all those pages to be filled out. Luckily I had my trusty Kaweco Sport. I even wrote in cursive (well, signed in cursive).

I did get some stuff in the mail today. The extra nib for my wife's Visconti showed up, and was just fine right out of the box. Cleaned it up, popped it in the pen with a cartridge of Bilberry (also newly arrived). It writes really good and she's happy with it.

Next project is this. New multi-channel ebonite feed on left, old plastic one on right, and the troublemaker.

CS Ebonite - 1.jpeg

[Sailor Kenshin]

Woke way too early, saw it wasn't raining. Good, we can run to the store and grab some snacks to send a relative staying in an extended care facility. The instant we got into the car, it began to pour.

Mission accomplished anyway. 👍🏻

I was right about my manicure. It's chipping away on Day Three, but the Carbon Fire stain is still going strong.

Organized sewing supplies. No stabbings took place.

Now listening to that 900-song playlist: Calico Girlfriend, Papa Nez and The First National Band.

[dneal]

Took big risks on Friday the 13th, and finally got this Conway Stewart running well. It started out (typically) drying up after a paragraph or two, only to near gush when it reprimed itself. The problem was that not enough air was returning to the reservoir.

That ebonite feed above has a wider channel to allow more air, but just tamed it enough to reduce it to a saturated/faint sort of surging. Part of the problem was that there's no breather hole in the nib, but the truth is that the feed simply isn't long enough. Hmmm... what to do?

The nib/feed holder has a molded portion where the nib goes, and a "stop" that will only let it go in so far. Since I can't lengthen the feed, I shortened the nib. I took just under 2mm off the end, and now when everything is inserted properly the end of the feed lands closer to the tip. Where the "M" size marking used to be visible, it's now just under the edge of the section. Since it's ebonite, it's heat-set properly too. Flow regulation and consistence corrected.

Still a little to broad for me, and I'll likely regrind it.

Ooh, it reverse writes too! First time I ever bothered smoothing that side. Maybe I'll grind a stub and leave the reverse writing portion.

Tuned Dandy - 1.jpegTuned Dandy - 2.jpeg
Tuned Dandy - 3.jpeg
Tuned Dandy - 4.jpeg

And I'm still experimenting with videos... Maybe I should review this pen.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Pretty ink. And pen.

Thursday the 12th ended in a deluge that woke me several times. Friday the 13th? Hid under the bed. Not actually, but...

Cleaned a pen, answered a letter. Re-filled a Lamy Al Star with an InkVent Mix, 'Raspberry Robin.' In spite of having so many pens and inks, I have a tendency to stick with an ink/pen combo I like.

Wandered around the yard glancing fearfully at the ominous, lowering sky. Picked up sticks.

Looked at a blazing red/orange sunset.

Now on the giant playlist (which has everything from Beatles to Steppenwolf and just about anything in between plus our own 'promos'): Tanita Tikaram, Twist in My Sobriety.

[dneal]

I stubbed it already.

[dneal]

Sometimes I say being retired is like a closet full of perfect Saturdays. Just pick one out. Today happened to be a perfect Saturday all by itself.

Had a nice 30 minute powernap, and took my wife on her errands. Found a variety case of Fitz's soda's at Sam's Club. I couldn't tell you the last time I drank an Orange soda. Tastes like children's aspirin. Not what I remembered. Blech... lol

Maybe I'll try a grape one tomorrow. The Cream Sodas and Root Beer is what I bought it for.

It's cold, so that means jigsaw puzzle season. In between bouts of puzzle blindness, I tried a lot of inks, and stopped on R&K Cassia. I don't know why. It's vibrant, but it's purple. Hmmm. Third attempt at a video. Gotta keep my thumb out of the way because it screws up the focus.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Most days, I perform mundane tasks hardly worth the mention: meal prep, laundry, dishwashing, yard work.

But today, I saw my Jints beat the Vikes. Go Jints!

[dneal]

Today I fried a donut.

Fried Donut - 1.jpeg

I put it in this.

Fried Donut - 1 (3).jpeg

[dneal]

60 degrees today. Cleaned up the shop, and a lot of dead ladybugs.

A lot.

[Kobaken]

I returned from my traveling to https://westgateresorts.com/hotels/florida/ Travelling helps you develop love and compassion for others. But in order to develop love and compassion for others we must first develop it for ourselves. Traveling will help you with that, too. Also its great way to meet new people and taste local food ahaha

[Sailor Kenshin]

60 degrees today. Cleaned up the shop, and a lot of dead ladybugs.

A lot.

😱

This from yesterday, since it's still early: cleaned out a couple of pens, decided I really hate staining inks, and came up with Stupid Question of the Day: are ALL TWSBIs gushers?

dneal, even though I love the way your inks seem to flow so well in your videos, I can't stand when a Fine nib writes like a BB. And not even Pelikan inks can tame it.

I also realize why people have said they hate the TWSBI Go. Ow, my thumb.

[dneal]

dneal, even though I love the way your inks seem to flow so well in your videos, I can't stand when a Fine nib writes like a BB. And not even Pelikan inks can tame it.

I'm a maintenance guy, and I like to make things run well. Tuning a carb (or even a bank of carbs) is fun for me. The same is the case with nibs, and I spend a lot of time tweaking and adjusting because it makes me happy when I get it right. I've come to appreciate wetter adjustments, but I know what you're talking about with the gushers.

The Visconti-branded nib I posted about recently is in the zone. I love it.



I'll adjust your TWSBI if you want. Shoot me a PM.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for the generous offer, but the nib is what it is...the 'ow' was for that spring. I think its original home was in an automotive shock absorber.

Made a ham/bean soup from the bone off the Christmas ham. In the Instant Pot. I'm terrified of pressure cookers, and have returned or given away every one we bought (starting with the one my MIL gave us). The IP is something different. 40 minutes, no noise, no smell, easy to clean. Win!

[dneal]

Went to my favorite convenience store and took a couple of their housemade meatloaf sammiches over to a buddy's house.

Meatloaf sammiches are a special thing.

The pic of the "fried donut" made me laugh again. I love the way a fresh cork bubbles in paraffin wax, as it soaks it up. It's pretty when it's done too.

DonutDelivery - 1.jpeg

DonutDelivery - 2.jpeg